I hope you've had a wonderful long weekend!

Here are a few shots from my studio - a bench on the veranda - there's a still life painting in progress. I've used cut out paper shapes of the plant pot and vase to play around with the composition. It's kind of an imaginary still life, but I did bring a plant in from the garden and a vase from the kitchen for reference.

The painting is for the Don Whyte Framing offcuts show. It's an annual fundraising exhibition which I try to get involved with -tho I blew it last year! If you're in Darwin it opens next Saturday and is always a buying frenzy!! There's a great write up about it here.

Here's a shot of the painting in progress, and the finished work, below.

April is flying

April is flying past, weeks ago I'd planned to write something about poetry month. April is poetry month in the US, or anywhere in the world you can get online!There is a poem a day challenge here, and you can read a poem a day here, but I've barely had time to look at these - I've been busy with choir (a little concert last Saturday) and I'm busy making cards, flags and fridge magnets for a craft fair at the end of the month.

I managed to squeeze in time for one little painting for Don Whyte's wonderful (fundraising) Off-Cuts Show. Here are some photos of the painting in progress.

I lliked it a lot at this stage!

Almost finished!

I'm reading two books at once - 'The hare with amber eyes' a memoir by Edmund De Waal, I heard him interviewed on the radio a  couple of months ago and it made me cry!! so the book has been on my to read list ever since. Also reading 'Mindset' by Carole Dweck (psychology, which is blowing the cobwebs off the old brain!)

The mornings are getting cooler - here comes autumn that feels like spring!! Time to get oustide and tackle the weeds and plant some tomatoes.

Back on the horse!

Yesterday I had another go at my painting for the Don Whyte off-cuts show, and it's getting there at last! I'm hoping to do another canvas before the end of the month when the show goes up.

Here's a close up of the embroidery piece I'm working on, it's the first time I've done couching. Nat at smallest forest blog has a great post about couching, and is doing some wonderful work for a weekly stitch challenge...check it out!!!



Here is a great quote from a poetry book I'm reading -
'After my mother, a sceptical scientist, was dragged to her first poetry reading, she said, 'I see the point of poets now. They notice things.'' (52 ways of looking at a poem by Ruth Padel)
I think that goes for artists too!

Just a quick post as I need to get out in the garden and do some weeding before they take over the whole garden.
Have a great weekend.

On my table

I seem to have lots of bits and pieces in progress and not much to show at the moment! Today I've started on a sewn piece for an exhibition that's coming up in May - a piece of work based on a poem, the exhibition will co-incide with wordstorm the writers festival. Here's a shot of work in progress!

Last Friday I started on a painting for the Don Whyte Off cuts show - an exhibition that happens every year, I've talked about it before and love to take part, but I'm struggling with painting at the moment, the canvas has been painted over twice already (and neglected this morning). This is the sketch I'm working from, and the haiku/moment that inspired it.


Four magpie geese fly
overhead a rainbow gleams
no-one to tell 'look'.

One of my haiku has been shared over on the blog 'fluxustulip' by artist Carissa Krueger, many thanks to her for her interest in my work. I came across Carissa in an interview on the Sketchbook Challenge blog. Sometimes I think I'm more interested in the creative process than the finished product, and the sketchbook is like the secret cauldron of the creative process - interviews like this one with Carissa give a little peek into another artists processes, so interesting and inspiring!

Opening next Wednesday is a survey show of Craft from across the northern territory at the Chan gallery, I'm pretty chuffed to have 2 of my mermaid dolls included, and can't wait to see the exhibition, and hopefully get to some of the workshops - especially yarn bombing!